Buying a used Class A Repairs to Expect?

[brightond]

Hi There!

I'm looking at an older Class A RV to renovate for a 1-2 year adventure with my family.

Right now I'm looking at a 1998 Fleetwood Southwind (30' with a Ford engine and 35K miles.) I could get this for just over 10K.

I've researched these Southwind's and have mostly found people saying they loved them and that they ran great for them.

Now I realize that I will need to budget some funds for repairs/renovations but I would love some input on what I may be looking at for tuning a vehicle like this up.

Any advice on what I should consider when purchasing a vehicle would be appreciated.

Thanks!

James

[Bumpyroad]

if you are considering an older P-30/32 chassis, research what needs to be done to the front end to make it road worthy.
bumpy

[tropical36]

brightond wrote:
Hi There!

I'm looking at an older Class A RV to renovate for a 1-2 year adventure with my family.

Right now I'm looking at a 1998 Fleetwood Southwind (30' with a Ford engine and 35K miles.) I could get this for just over 10K.

I've researched these Southwind's and have mostly found people saying they loved them and that they ran great for them.

Now I realize that I will need to budget some funds for repairs/renovations but I would love some input on what I may be looking at for tuning a vehicle like this up.

Any advice on what I should consider when purchasing a vehicle would be appreciated.

Thanks!

James

I'm not so keen on the 460 V8 and if going with the Ford, I'd try and negotiate myself up to the V10 which was introduced in 99. Even at it's lesser power introduction, it should serve you well in a 30ft rig. The early engines may have some spark plug issues, but that kind of stuff can be rectified.
At 30ft, the Chevy would be a good choice and mine as well, with not having the auto park to contend with and once the front coils are upgraded and the air bags discarded, you'll have a much nicer ride on it's P32 independent suspension.
As to what to expect during ownership, it'll mostly be the unexpected and the good news is that you won't be needing another hobby.
Are the tires fairly new or will you have to figure in a set of those at this price? If you're not familiar, return with the last four digits of the DOT number on one of the sidewalls and keep in mind that looking like new, doesn't mean much.

[frankdamp]

We bought an '02 Georgetown in 2010 from the original owner who was selling it because he'd developed medical issues. The chassis was an '01 and had the V-10 and a 5-speed transmission. It had 12,000 miles on the clock and 42 hours on the generator. The tires were the originals, 8 years old, so they got replaced on the way home from buying it!

The only expensive thing that went bad was the fridge. I was an odd-ball US brand but made in Sweden. We replaced it with another RV fridge. At the time we sold it, 4 years later, the control board for the generator had to be replaced and a couple of other minor things.

We sold it after 4 years because gas was $4.50 a gallon and at 7.5 mpg, we really couldn't afford to run it.

[jspringator]

Run from water damage. There is no way of ascertaining the damage behind the wall and roof. There should be plenty of RVs in your local area (within 200 miles) to view. Have you looked at Craigslist? Find an RV survey company to give it a look over if you can't. Find a floorplan you like and if it looks good, have it surveyed by an expert. Don't expect perfect, but water damage is a deal killer for me.

[Tom_Barb]

No matter what restoration I've ever seen eventually got to the point where the bigger the hole was, the bigger it needed to be.
I go for the best coach you could from the get go.

[Bumpyroad]

I'm skeptical of Florida based RVs, salt air, floods/hurricaines,etc.
bumpy

[brightond]

Thanks again for all the tremendous replies.

I spoke with the dealership a few times and from what they say this thing is "very clean" and was traded in with a cover. Its price is $12,900 (I said around 10 in the first post.)

They said that there was a small sign of water damage in the front driver door/cab but it is slight. The roof appears to be well caulked and there is a patch area above the driver side cab.

The RV has a cloth ceiling with no signs of water damage there or around vents.

Tires are from early 2014 and are Bridgestone.

Engine turned right over and the generator took a few turns and started running.

Assuming I may need another 5-10K in repairs over the next 2 years do you think this is still a good value.

I do like the idea of looking at Florida for some better working models:)

[Gjac]

You asked two questions in your OP. The first is what it will cost for repairs and renovations. Based on my expieriance with a MH of that age I would say plan on $5,000 to get it the way you want it if you do all the work your self. The second question is what to look for in an older MH. I would say maintainance is more important than brand. Next look at the CCC will it be enough for how you plan to camp. Do you have enough storage and fresh water. Are you going to be happy with the HP to Wt ratio if you plan on trips out west. I would choose a well maintained entry level MH with no water leaks over a higher price one where the owner never got up on the roof and failed to caulk it. I have keep track of all expenses over 12 years of ownership for repairs,mods and maintainance and have spent $14, 000 in total. roughly one half for repair and mods. Travel expenses run between $60 and $100/day depending on where I travel. Buying a used MH and doing the work yourself can be rewarding and cost effective or turn into a money pit if you have to take it to a dealer every time something goes wrong.

[dtucker3usa]

Don't forget to have the chassis checked. We bought a 1997 Damon and have had to put about $4000 into the suspension with new leaf springs in the rear, springs for the front (including the airbags), shocks all around,sway bar bushings all around, etc. That doesn't include the house items we have had to replace. If we didn't love the floor plan we would have walked away a long time ago. Just my two cents worth. Oh and we originally paid $12,000 for it and have at least another $12000 in it.

[magik235]

Check out my thread below for some of the things you can expect.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26989746/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1

[rockhillmanor]

agree with others. there are plethora of older RV's STILL ON ROAD running for the price of what you would have to sink into a beat up non running one and/or total rehab.

Look around winter is a real good time to snatch up a nice MH for sale.
Come on down to Florida there are a ton of MH's for sale real cheap.

Snowbirds and Full timers come down here and after awhile one of the spouses passes away or they buy a home and end up selling the MH. RV prices are very very low down here because of the large inventory of them. And they are running condition MH's, and most no matter what year they are, are in pristine condition.

good luck in what ever you decide. :C

[Bumpyroad]

that is on the old "uninproved' FORD chassis with the 16 inch tires. see if it weighs too much and has adequate capacity.
bumpy

[doxiemom11]

I'd definately check batteries. If you don't have good batteries it could affect the controls of other things and make you think they don't work, when in fact it's low batteries causing the problem. Like furnace, A/C, refrigerator operations. We purchased a 10 yr old class a 7 years ago and so far just tires and things like circuit boards. Vent and skylight covers can get brittle and crack. We have replaced those. When checking the roof, just go ahead and use etrnabond on all seams and around vents etc to ward off future possible leaks.

[darsben1]

brightond wrote:
So many great replies! This is a fantastic community:)

Assuming I'l be replacing everything thats rubber and getting new batteries/tires/brakes and tuning the engine/generator...can anyone speculate what type of additional investment I'd be looking at if paying a professional?

Effy posted "You could probably get something about 10 years newer for $20k and save a ton of money that you would have spent on a rehab - have a newer unit, more modern electronics and appliances, and a unit you could use immediately."

This makes me think I could be looking at spending another 10K just to get this Class A on the road. Any thoughts or experience with this decision?

I bought my 1990 Southwind used. Besides the tires ALL SYSTEMS have functioned nicely. MY total extra investment after purchse has been

New tires all around about $1100.00
New fresh water pump. 80.00
Tune up etc on engine, New spark plugs, wires etc $400
New radiator, $3000.00 (radiator developed hole in tank 8000 miles and 1 year after purchase)
New fuel pump $125.00
Replacing all rubber parts has not been necessary and I have not replaced any. They all seem original to me.
If I was going to buy the unit I would check the tire age and over 5 years old would be replaced. One old could be kept for a spare to get to a shop. Before purchase after engine was warmed up I would get an oil sample and send the oil to Blackstone for analysis. This can tell you tons about the engine.

After purchase I would then camp in my driveway for a few days to make sure everything works. I am assuming you are checking the fridge, furnace,stove, microwave, jenny and HW heater before purchase.
Then in your driveway you can assess the condition of the sundry items such as the awning fabric, reseal the roof, check for plumbing leaks so on.